CARL L I N N A E U S . B y Knut Hagberg; translated from the S w e d ­ish
by A l a n Blair. (Issued under the auspices of the Anglo-Swedish
Literary Foundation). London, Jonathan Cape. New York, New
York, E. P. Dutton & Co. Pp. 264. Price $4.75.
This is a delightful potpourri of literature, science, theology, phil­osophy,
history, and biography from the times and life of one of the
giants of science. A goodly portion of all of these is necessary to
describe and deal with a character as versatile as that of Linnaeus.
The volume is not a complete biography of Linnaeus nor is it an
exhaustive description of his many contributions to science and phil­osophy.
However, the student of philosophy has an excellent oppor-tunily
to renew his acquaintance with Linnaeus while a person
reading for general information is given an introduction to a great
scientist.
If the reader is interested in literature he will find bits of satisfac­tion
in quotations from such as Samuel Johnson, Virgil, and Shakes­peare.
In his prologue the author gives a short resume of the Swed­ish
historical setting into which Linnaeus was bom, namely, that of
the time of Charles the XII. Then follows a short chapter on the
biography of Linnaeus after which the author accompanies in imag­ination
Linnaeus on his journeys through Sweden. It was on these
journeys that Linnaeus made many of his observations followed by
the analyses and classification of the flora of Sweden.
The author succeeds very wiell in his emphasis of the boundless
curiosity of Linnaeus and the excellent help that he received from
his instructors. In addition to this curiosity Linnaeus had a keen
analytical mind by which he confirmed and established to a high
degree the methodology of science which begins with observation.
It was in the realm of classification through his publication of G e n e r a
P l a n t a r u m that he made his greatest contribution to science.
The author states early in his work that the four main factors that
developed Linnaeus were the flora of Sweden, his interest in religion,
humanistic education, and stimulus of scientific discoveries in Eng­land.
These factors are well described.
This reviewer has not seen the original text, but apparently the
translation is Well done because there are no awkward phrases or
sentences that so often arise from too literal translations.
EDWARD O. NORTH
L a k e F o r e s t C o l l e ge
NORWAY-SWEDEN: UNION, DISUNION, A N D SCANDINAVIAN
INTEGRATION. By Raymond E. Lindgren. Princeton, N. J . , Prince-
University Press, 1959. Pp. 298. Price $5.00.
This study is part of an ambitious series on the problems of inter­national
political community being published by the Center for Re­search
on World Political Institutions at Princeton University. Read-
120
ers will recall the more general Political C o m m u n i t y and t h e N o r t h
A t l a n t i c A r e a which appeared a couple of years ago, of which Prof.
Lindgren was one among several authors. In his current work, Prof.
Lindgren, chairman of the Department of History at Occidental Col­lege,
presents a very detailed narrative of the union problem, the
main conclusion of which seems to be that Sweden and Norway could
not achieve permanent understanding (what the study calls "secur­ity-
community") until the political union was dissolved.
The opening sections of the work summarize the trials of political
union under a common monarchy from 1814 to the appointment of
the fourth union committee in 1902. This is general narrative, based
mostly on current standard authorities. Prof. Lindgren's major con­tribution
is the closely narrated account of events from 1902-1908,
based on primary sources collected during a year's Fullbright grant
in Scandinavia. The work concludes with a section on Swedish-
Norwegian relations since 1908, and a! concluding chapter on general
political considerations flowing from the narrative.
Why was the union a failure, if by failure we mean that it had
eventually to be dissolved by more or less mutual consent? "It was
at the level of ministers, governments, and parliaments that the
failure of integrative processes occurred," says Prof. Lindgren. "The
grounds for growth of integration might have been better prepared
if the social, economic, and cultural institutions had developed . . .
but . . . they did not," he concludes. The trouble lay in "political
barriers," a willingness of Swedes to hope for Norwegian submission,
a Norwegian national feeling so profound that any leader who ap­peared
to "fraternize" with Swedes was open to suspicion, and a
monarchy which was unable to get its Norwegian and Swedish legs
marching together. Thus the very existence of the union constantly
embarrassed half-hearted and fumbling attempts at understanding,
which could grow only when the dearest dream of the Norse heart
was realized: complete and unequivocal national independence.
While Prof. Lindgren documents this Norwegian demand from
every possible angle consistent with his essentially political discus­sion,
something is still lacking to make it intelligible to the average
reader. One might easily conclude that it was a form of pathology,
and perhaps in many of its forms, it was. A section designed! to ex­plain
where this nationalism came from, how deeply it affected the
life-consciousness of people all over Europe, particularly in the
troubled years of Metternich after the French Revolution, would, I
think, have deepened one's respect for the dimensions of the prob­lem,
as well as for personalities like Johan Sverdrup, whose appear­ance
in this volume is not much more than stubborn and demagogic.
Perhaps students of the relations of Norwegians and Swedes in Amer-
121
ica would be able to offer interesting insights in this area. I am also
puzzled that Prof. Lindgren has nothing to say about the tremendous
upheaval in Scandinavia caused by emigration: what might have
happened in the union struggle had a million unhappy people crowd­ed
those quickly changing countries, jamming the rural and urban
labor markets, and venting their frustrations on nationalist agitations?
Is it coincidence that the great Swedish inquiry into the causes of
emigration, E m i g r a t i o n s - u t r e d n i n g e n , was being prepared in the same
troubled times after the turn of the century?
It would appear that if union failed at "the level of ministers, gov­ernments,
and parliaments," then one of two things occurred. Either
politicians were stupid, or forces were at work which made political
accommodation impossible. Prof. Lindgren seems to conclude that
the latter was the case. If this is true, then we are badly in need of
a companion study to the present volume, which we may hope he
will write.
ZENOS HAWKINSON
N o r t h P a r k C o l l e ge
PÅ J A K T E F T E R VILDA VÄSTERN. B y Harry Kullman. Stock­holm,
Rabén and Sjögren, 1958. Sw. Kr. 26.00.
A Swedish writer, Harry Kullman, has given us a very unusual
description of the Wild' West in his recent book På j a k t e f t e r v i l da
västern (Seeking the Wild West), published to coincide with the cen­tennial
of the Pike's Peak gold rush. Mr. Kullman's book bristles with
historical facts and is a travelogue which brings the reader the at­mosphere
of the golden age of the West, as well as modem America.
A hundred years seems a long time, but in this work it is amazing
how short the distance is between the "genuine" Wild West epoch and
the present time.
The author has been able to penetrate the garish stage settings and
the loud fanfares of the Wild West with an ability whjah shows his
understanding of this part of America and his truthful documentation
of this phase of American culture. Among the mountains of Wyom­ing
and Montana, he has sought out the reality behind Wild Bill
Hickok—the man with the fastest draw in the country—and his ad­ventures.
He is driven by a desire to "know more about Wild Bill,
about Buffalo Bill, and about all of the heroes of our youth and of
the Wild West." How much all of this material written about Buffalo
Bill, the King of the Border, is true? Kullman finds that it is very
doubtful that Buffalo Bill ever rode the Pony Express. It is also
quite uncertain if he ever killed more than one Indian. The rest of
his fantastic and blood-curdling adventures have no doubt been
created by greedy businessmen. Kullman lets the showman, Buffalo
Bill, appear in all his glory. In this connection, there is no equal.
122

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CARL L I N N A E U S . B y Knut Hagberg; translated from the S w e d ­ish
by A l a n Blair. (Issued under the auspices of the Anglo-Swedish
Literary Foundation). London, Jonathan Cape. New York, New
York, E. P. Dutton & Co. Pp. 264. Price $4.75.
This is a delightful potpourri of literature, science, theology, phil­osophy,
history, and biography from the times and life of one of the
giants of science. A goodly portion of all of these is necessary to
describe and deal with a character as versatile as that of Linnaeus.
The volume is not a complete biography of Linnaeus nor is it an
exhaustive description of his many contributions to science and phil­osophy.
However, the student of philosophy has an excellent oppor-tunily
to renew his acquaintance with Linnaeus while a person
reading for general information is given an introduction to a great
scientist.
If the reader is interested in literature he will find bits of satisfac­tion
in quotations from such as Samuel Johnson, Virgil, and Shakes­peare.
In his prologue the author gives a short resume of the Swed­ish
historical setting into which Linnaeus was bom, namely, that of
the time of Charles the XII. Then follows a short chapter on the
biography of Linnaeus after which the author accompanies in imag­ination
Linnaeus on his journeys through Sweden. It was on these
journeys that Linnaeus made many of his observations followed by
the analyses and classification of the flora of Sweden.
The author succeeds very wiell in his emphasis of the boundless
curiosity of Linnaeus and the excellent help that he received from
his instructors. In addition to this curiosity Linnaeus had a keen
analytical mind by which he confirmed and established to a high
degree the methodology of science which begins with observation.
It was in the realm of classification through his publication of G e n e r a
P l a n t a r u m that he made his greatest contribution to science.
The author states early in his work that the four main factors that
developed Linnaeus were the flora of Sweden, his interest in religion,
humanistic education, and stimulus of scientific discoveries in Eng­land.
These factors are well described.
This reviewer has not seen the original text, but apparently the
translation is Well done because there are no awkward phrases or
sentences that so often arise from too literal translations.
EDWARD O. NORTH
L a k e F o r e s t C o l l e ge
NORWAY-SWEDEN: UNION, DISUNION, A N D SCANDINAVIAN
INTEGRATION. By Raymond E. Lindgren. Princeton, N. J . , Prince-
University Press, 1959. Pp. 298. Price $5.00.
This study is part of an ambitious series on the problems of inter­national
political community being published by the Center for Re­search
on World Political Institutions at Princeton University. Read-
120
ers will recall the more general Political C o m m u n i t y and t h e N o r t h
A t l a n t i c A r e a which appeared a couple of years ago, of which Prof.
Lindgren was one among several authors. In his current work, Prof.
Lindgren, chairman of the Department of History at Occidental Col­lege,
presents a very detailed narrative of the union problem, the
main conclusion of which seems to be that Sweden and Norway could
not achieve permanent understanding (what the study calls "secur­ity-
community") until the political union was dissolved.
The opening sections of the work summarize the trials of political
union under a common monarchy from 1814 to the appointment of
the fourth union committee in 1902. This is general narrative, based
mostly on current standard authorities. Prof. Lindgren's major con­tribution
is the closely narrated account of events from 1902-1908,
based on primary sources collected during a year's Fullbright grant
in Scandinavia. The work concludes with a section on Swedish-
Norwegian relations since 1908, and a! concluding chapter on general
political considerations flowing from the narrative.
Why was the union a failure, if by failure we mean that it had
eventually to be dissolved by more or less mutual consent? "It was
at the level of ministers, governments, and parliaments that the
failure of integrative processes occurred," says Prof. Lindgren. "The
grounds for growth of integration might have been better prepared
if the social, economic, and cultural institutions had developed . . .
but . . . they did not," he concludes. The trouble lay in "political
barriers," a willingness of Swedes to hope for Norwegian submission,
a Norwegian national feeling so profound that any leader who ap­peared
to "fraternize" with Swedes was open to suspicion, and a
monarchy which was unable to get its Norwegian and Swedish legs
marching together. Thus the very existence of the union constantly
embarrassed half-hearted and fumbling attempts at understanding,
which could grow only when the dearest dream of the Norse heart
was realized: complete and unequivocal national independence.
While Prof. Lindgren documents this Norwegian demand from
every possible angle consistent with his essentially political discus­sion,
something is still lacking to make it intelligible to the average
reader. One might easily conclude that it was a form of pathology,
and perhaps in many of its forms, it was. A section designed! to ex­plain
where this nationalism came from, how deeply it affected the
life-consciousness of people all over Europe, particularly in the
troubled years of Metternich after the French Revolution, would, I
think, have deepened one's respect for the dimensions of the prob­lem,
as well as for personalities like Johan Sverdrup, whose appear­ance
in this volume is not much more than stubborn and demagogic.
Perhaps students of the relations of Norwegians and Swedes in Amer-
121
ica would be able to offer interesting insights in this area. I am also
puzzled that Prof. Lindgren has nothing to say about the tremendous
upheaval in Scandinavia caused by emigration: what might have
happened in the union struggle had a million unhappy people crowd­ed
those quickly changing countries, jamming the rural and urban
labor markets, and venting their frustrations on nationalist agitations?
Is it coincidence that the great Swedish inquiry into the causes of
emigration, E m i g r a t i o n s - u t r e d n i n g e n , was being prepared in the same
troubled times after the turn of the century?
It would appear that if union failed at "the level of ministers, gov­ernments,
and parliaments," then one of two things occurred. Either
politicians were stupid, or forces were at work which made political
accommodation impossible. Prof. Lindgren seems to conclude that
the latter was the case. If this is true, then we are badly in need of
a companion study to the present volume, which we may hope he
will write.
ZENOS HAWKINSON
N o r t h P a r k C o l l e ge
PÅ J A K T E F T E R VILDA VÄSTERN. B y Harry Kullman. Stock­holm,
Rabén and Sjögren, 1958. Sw. Kr. 26.00.
A Swedish writer, Harry Kullman, has given us a very unusual
description of the Wild' West in his recent book På j a k t e f t e r v i l da
västern (Seeking the Wild West), published to coincide with the cen­tennial
of the Pike's Peak gold rush. Mr. Kullman's book bristles with
historical facts and is a travelogue which brings the reader the at­mosphere
of the golden age of the West, as well as modem America.
A hundred years seems a long time, but in this work it is amazing
how short the distance is between the "genuine" Wild West epoch and
the present time.
The author has been able to penetrate the garish stage settings and
the loud fanfares of the Wild West with an ability whjah shows his
understanding of this part of America and his truthful documentation
of this phase of American culture. Among the mountains of Wyom­ing
and Montana, he has sought out the reality behind Wild Bill
Hickok—the man with the fastest draw in the country—and his ad­ventures.
He is driven by a desire to "know more about Wild Bill,
about Buffalo Bill, and about all of the heroes of our youth and of
the Wild West." How much all of this material written about Buffalo
Bill, the King of the Border, is true? Kullman finds that it is very
doubtful that Buffalo Bill ever rode the Pony Express. It is also
quite uncertain if he ever killed more than one Indian. The rest of
his fantastic and blood-curdling adventures have no doubt been
created by greedy businessmen. Kullman lets the showman, Buffalo
Bill, appear in all his glory. In this connection, there is no equal.
122